La Crosse settles with conservation group

Mississippi Valley Conservancy, a land conservation group that had come under fire for its handling of public funds, has agreed to pay the City of La Crosse $400,000 and turn over 50 acres of protected lands to the city, officials said Tuesday.

The agreement stems from an audit of the conservancy to determine whether the group was meeting requirements for spending funds from the city and the state Department of Natural Resources.

Rising over the Mississippi River, the La Crosse bluffs are the home of diverse soils and plant communities and in their protected state afford the same views from the river as hundreds of years ago.

City and state funds have been used to buy land and protect it for conservation purposes.

In September, the city and DNR publicly aired their concerns about the group and said $1.14 million in public funds to protect bluffs along the Mississippi was unaccounted for.

Officials said then that they wanted all or part of the money back.

Phillip Addis, a special counsel to the City of La Crosse, said that $622,000 of city funds had been in question and that the agreement between Mississippi Valley Conservancy and the city settles the dispute.

On Tuesday, a tentative agreement between La Crosse and the conservancy specifies that the nonprofit group will turn over seven properties - or about 50 acres - and repay the city $400,000.

The group can keep an additional $222,000.

The deal needs the approval of the La Crosse Common Council.

An independent audit sought by the city and the state confirmed that state funds from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program had been used by the group for appropriate land acquisitions costs, the DNR said in a statement.

The audit suggested improvements in Mississippi Valley's accounting practices, and while the group took issue with some of the conclusions in the audit, city and state authorities said the group has agreed to make changes.

Tim Jacobson, executive director of the conservancy, said he is pleased the dispute has been resolved.

Of the $400,000 the group is returning, $250,000 would have been used for future land purchases, he said.

About Lee Bergquist

Lee Bergquist covers environmental issues and is author of "Second Wind: The Rise of the Ageless Athlete."